Well I did something new.  No, I didn’t grow some hair.  I decided to take a supplement. I’ve been kicking the idea around for a little while.  You see, this may come as a surprise to you, but I’m not getting any younger.  I haven’t been bouncing back after my workouts like I used to.  I’ve been having a hard time getting motivated after any particular beat downs.  I’ve felt tired and rundown.  I tried to take some time off.  I increased my rest.  I shortened the workouts.  I trained for strength.  None of those seemed to help.

So recently on Twitter I hooked up with Progenex and starting following their tweets.  I won’t bore you with the details but I ended up with a free sample of PROGENEX Recovery.  Once they arrived in the mail I committed to giving it an honest trial.  My very own “clinical trial”.  I don’t care what happens to other people when they take something.  It makes for a nice story, but I need to know for myself.  So with my test subjects (me, n=1), I was ready to begin.

You see, I have never taken any sort of supplement on my own volition.  I took Creatine monohydrate while I was playing football in college.  The school provided it.  And it was awful.  It was like drinking sand.  I don’t know that there was any improvement in my strength that would be attributed to the Creatine.  We worked out like mad.  We lifted 4day/wk.  We ate massive amounts of bad food and got really strong.  I was also 21-22 years old.  I could lift a house and run like a deer.  I’m sure that that had a major role in that training program.  There were other guys on the team that took other supplements.  It was mostly for weight gaining purposes, but I just never really thought that much about it.

Fast forward 15 years and I still really didn’t think that there was anything to taking supplements.  I had always associated them with the beefcakes that super-set hammer curls and calf raises at the Globo Gym.  But how could I pass up a free sample. I set out to give it an honest assessment.  That is to say I took the product as directed.  After every workout for 2 weeks I mixed up a shake.  I took it at the prescribed time (within 30 minutes post workout) and just tried to be aware of how I felt.

I did some workouts that I knew would normally put me down for a few days.  The thing is that didn’t happen.  I felt great.  I was still sore but I always felt ready to workout the next day.  Even on my scheduled rest days I had to force myself to do nothing.  I wanted to workout.  I felt like I was ready to hit it again.

After my trial run ran out, it was back to the same ol’ thing.  I had a hard time getting motivated.  It was at this time that I pulled the trigger and ordered a bag of Recovery for myself.  I’m about a week into this bag and I have to say that I couldn’t be happier with the results.  In fact, I hit a PR on FRAN today.  And the thing is, I know I can go faster.  I didn’t throw up and I don’t have the post Fran cough.  I think I scared myself to tell you the truth.  It was the “easiest Fran” I’ve done.  If that’s possible.  In fact I’m upset at the fact that I didn’t go harder but I’ll leave that for another post.

So put me on the bandwagon.  There are a ton of people out there in the CrossFit community singing the praises of PROGENEX and I’ll lump myself in that group.  I would not have a problem recommending it to anyone looking to recover quickly after a workout that involves constantly varied, functional movements performed at high intensity.  And one more thing, It tastes good.  That is a plus.  If it helped me perform better I could look the other way on the taste but I didn’t have to deal with that.

I like it so much that I signed up to be a PROGENEX Affiliate.  I’ve added a widget button in the left sidebar.  By ordering through that button, you’ll get a 10% discount.  If you want to order straight from their website use the discount code BOYD for the same discount. Let me know if you give it a try and tell me about your results.

Range of Motion.  What does that mean?  Range of motion is the movement of a joint through it’s full natural articulation.  If you want to break it down even further, it would be ‘All the way Up, and All the way Down.’  The main point we want to make here is that you are moving as far and as safely as possible.  When you do this, you get the most bang for your buck.

Please notice that the hip is below the knee.  When you squat at this depth you engage both the front (quads) and back (hamstrings) of the leg.  When this is done the muscles of the leg work in concert with one another.  The quads compliment the hamstrings and vice versa.  When you isolate your muscles during workout (think leg extensions, leg curls,  and partial squats) you create muscle imbalances that may cause you to be susceptible to knee injuries.  And this is not only a lower body issue.

Push ups, Dips, and Pull ups performed with partial ROM will only hurt you in the long run.  You can never go wrong with ‘All the way up and all the way down.’  Is it harder.  Yes.  You have to remember that you are working out/training to get better.  Nobody cares if you can to 40 partial ROM push ups.  That doesn’t help you become healthier, stronger, and ninjafied.

Check out this video of a full on ninja.  I never knew that the push up was so technical.  But now that I do I’m better for it and my shoulders feel great.   It is really not that much stuff to remember.  Once you get it ingrained, you’ll be able to knock out a ton of push ups and stay healthy through the full ROM of the shoulder.

Just remember that this is not rocket science.  If you are unable to do a full ROM push up on the floor, raise your base of support for your hands.  Place your hands on a couple of chairs or lean against the stairs.  By raising your base of support you can scale a push up for your level of strength.  If your are very de-conditioned, you can lean against a wall.  You will still be getting the benefit from the full ROM.  You will also be maximizing your workout time.

Mr. Redmond dedicated his life to training for the Olympic games. When he was hit with an injury mid-race he still only had one thing on his mind, FINISH. Walking off that track without crossing the finish line was not even a thought in his mind.

I’m posting about this because at a recent soccer tournament for my son’s team, 2 players quit. That’s right. These 2 kids quit mid-tournament. They were scheduled for two games on Saturday with more games to follow on Sunday and these players quit after the first game. The team lost a one-sided game 8-1. The boys never showed up for the second game. Their parents relayed to news through the team manager to the coach that they were QUITTING THE TEAM. Can you believe this? No wonder our country is screwed up. I’ll say this out right. It’s not the fault of the kids. They don’t know any better. The parents should catch all the heat on this one. They are the ones we should be calling quitters. They have basically said that it’s OK to quit when things don’t go your way. Have a bad day at school, Quit. Not happy with work, Quit. Coach doesn’t give you the amount of playing time that you think you deserve, QUIT!.

You can rest assured that if you train at DUNAMIS, I will make sure that you don’t quit. You can slow down, puke, take a breathe, or rest, but YOU WILL FINISH. Maybe I need to thank those kids’ parents. They reminded me how much I hate quitters. After all, I don’t see to many around these parts.

If you want to be strong, you have to lift heavy weights.  Heavy is a relative term.  Heavy for me may not be heavy for the next person or unliftable for another.  Same thing goes for running.  You have to run fast to get faster.  You can’t go out and hit the streets for a leisurely run and expect to set some PRs.  You need train near your personal limits in order to get better and see improvements.  But you have to work up to them.  It is ignorant to think that you are going to go set a personal record in any activity (besides TV watching) without training for that moment.  Why workout or train unless you are trying to improve. Are you going out to just tread water?  That’s stupid.  Go out there with a goal of getting better than the last time.  Will it happen every time? No.  The fun is in the journey of seeing where you come from.  Being able to see your progress is great.

The thing is, in our society today, people don’t want to do be uncomfortable.  Stress on the body, whether through resistance training, running, sprinting, or sun exposure, our bodies are designed to adapt.  Lift heavy things in a linear plan and controlled way and you’ll get stronger.  And as you get stronger you’ll have to progressively add more and more weight as your body adapts to these heavier loads.  Same goes for running.  You can’t expect to get faster if you go out and run 9′ miles every time you train.  Don’t expect to run 8′ miles on race day.  It is not going to happen.  The same thing holds true for the sun.  Step out into the sun after a long winter without building up a resistance (tan) and you are going to get burned.

Think of the story of Milo.  He lifted his calf every day.  Even as the calf grew, Milo would lift the calf.  Milo became very strong from doing this everyday.  He lifted the calf as it progressively got bigger.  He didn’t just try to lift the cow once it was fully grown.  He built up to it.

I guess the moral of this story is: Do something today that stresses you.  You’ll be better for it.  And don’t go out and try to lift some crazy poundage.  Work up to it.  Don’t be an idiot.

I want to apologize to the boys that will face the DUNAMIS athletes in drills, 1-on-1s, and scrimmages. I hope you spent some time training rather than playing XBOX and eating DORITOS. Buckle your chinstraps boys.

JW, JB, BC, JG.
Be the Hammer.
(not pictured DD)

10 rounds for time:

5 wall-balls
5 burpees

Dear Dunamites,

Thursday the 29th will be the last day at our current facility. We’re moving back to my garage. While we will not have nearly the amount of interior room, we will still be able to effectively train. If you do not wish to make the move with us I understand. Please let me know what you’ll be doing.
Thanks,
GB

Complete as many rounds as possible in seven minutes of:

315/205 pound Deadlift, 7 reps
20 meter Sprint
14 One legged squats
21 Double-unders
20 meter Sprint

Squat 1rep max
Press 1 rep max
Deadlift 1rep max